When I started this blog, I wanted a place to write about my parenting philosophy. But each week, I sit down to write and realize, my philosophy is changing so often that I don’t want to write too much of it in stone. One thing is for sure, I want to nurture wildness and the quality of being untamable. I want my child to be bold and stubborn and be able to stand her ground.
Over the course of the last few weeks, I have realized that I want those things for myself, too. I can’t give her these qualities without leading by example, so I have to find ways to nurture my own wildness.
What is a wild heart?
To me, a wild heart is one that tries new things without fear of being bad at them. Someone who continues doing hobbies they enjoy even if they are bad at them. Someone who knows what they want and puts in the work to get it. Someone willing to explore, and try new things. Someone comfortable in nature. Someone that can hear the word ‘no’ and still persevere.
How to nurture wildness?
My number one go-to for cultivating that sense of freedom is spending time outdoors. Hiking, swimming, and wandering around are all great ways to move intuitively with your surroundings and leave you feeling looser and a bit undomesticated, which is my goal.
A good one for me is consuming media with protagonists that have traits I desire/ reading books where the main character is brave and adventurous.
This one might seem opposite to ‘wild’ but, having a list of things to try and actually trying them. In my mind, wild is not disorganized or unkempt, it is more-so the vibe of a lion on animal kingdom. It knows its place and takes what belongs to it.
Knowing who I am and what I stand for and believe in really helps me cultivate the natural confidence that I think goes hand in hand with wildness. Every so often, I open my notebook and write out things I value and what I believe in. This helps me stay grounded and living closer to what I want to be than when I didn’t remind myself who I wanted to be.
Nurturing this in my daughter starts with nurturing it in myself.
As always, thank you for reading and I hope you stay wild:) lmk some ways you nurture your own wildness!
